Welcome aboard Amtrak Valley Flyer Train #461 from Greenfield, Massachusetts' John W. Olver Transit Center to New Haven, Connecticut's Union Station. Today our train is lead by a GE Genesis P42DC locomotive pulling three coaches, including an ex-Budd Metroliner cabcar on the rear. Our stops along the way today will be Northampton, Holyoke, Springfield, Windsor Locks, Windsor, Hartford Union Station, Berlin, Meriden, Wallingford, New Haven-State Street, and New Haven Union Station.
There are two main sections of the entire route that the Valley Flyer runs on. The first section of the route is called the New Haven-Springfield Line (MRS), which as its name suggests, consists of the 62-mile section of track between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts. The MRS is owned entirely by Amtrak and splits from the Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor at Mill River Interlocking in New Haven where it continues to Springfield where the trackage joins the CSX Berkshire Subdivision there. Since June 2018 the MRS has seen frequent service with the launch of the CTRail "Hartford Line" service. Several CTRail and Amtrak Hartford Line (Formerly Shuttle) trains traverse the corridor daily in addition to the Washington-St. Albans Vermonter Amtrak Trains and a small number of Amtrak Northeast Regional Trains. With the exception of around 12 miles of track north of Hartford, the entire line has been double-tracked since September 2018. Prior to 1990 the line had been double-tracked, however, later that year portions of the double-tracked trackage were removed in order to cut costs.
The second section of the Valley Flyer route is known as the Conn River Line. This line runs from Springfield to the Vermont state line in Northfield, Massachusetts. Only the Vermonter continues north of Greenfield, however, the Valley Flyer route is concurrent with the Vermonter's Route up until Greenfield. Prior to 2014 the Conn River Line was in poor condition and only used by Pan Am Freight Trains. However, since December 29, 2014 the line has been used daily by passenger trains. The entire line is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).
Both lines also see frequent weekday freight service from the Connecticut Southern Railroad and Pan Am Railways.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the journey! :)
Additional Information:
Recording Date: July 18, 2020
Editing Tool: Sony Vegas Pro 20
Leading Locomotive: Amtrak P42DC (Forget the Number)
Train Number: 461
Class I Rode In: Coach
Coach I Rode In: 1st
Departure Station: Greenfield, MA John W. Olver Transit Center
Arrival Station: New Haven, CT Union Station
Departure Time: 9:15 AM EST
Arrival Time: 11:56 AM EST
Travel Time: 2 Hours 41 Minutes
Track Owners: Amtrak, CSX, MassDOT
Top Speed: 110 MPH
Electrification Type: 25kV at 60 Hz (Only from Mill River Interlocking; Not Used)
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